Morpho Menelaus
by l0chn3ss
Summary: The color of Maka's eyes had always been the same brown, but when she wakes up one morning to see them become a shock of blue, she is painfully reminded of the presence of a soulmate. MaStar Week 2018.


She was born with ash blonde hair and eyes that matched neither of her parents'. The wee tuff of grayish yellow was to be expected: her grandpa had always said that blond ran through the veins of the family. But the eyes? They were a dark earth, a swirl of brown that wasn't present in either of her family lines.

"So she has a soulmate in this lifetime," the doctor chuckled. She passed over the newborn daughter to the father. "Be wary for people with sunshine eyes and milk chocolate hair," she teased.

Spirit sniffed indignantly. "My little Maka is too good for them, who ever they are." He went on a tangent while simultaneously coddling her all at once.

They, the entire population of humans weren't always so certain of the presence of a soulmate. Some were born without a trace of a bond, while others' were so carefully hidden in plain sight that it was often times never realized. But a strong history of genetics and a well kept record often suggested the fact when the child's eyes opened for the first time. And then when it changed colors? Indisputable.

Maka's hair grew different with time, getting more bright and yellow as she grew older rather than in the opposite direction. Save for the strange green tint that she would get every summer from swimming classes, her locks became consistently lighter with age. With her mother's blonde-turned-brown and her father's tomato red, Maka hardly looked connected to any of her parents. She didn't mind all too much after a while, because color was only just one thing. The shape of her face and outline of her features were the proof that settled her doubts.

Forgetting about the soulmate bond, Maka was rudely reminded in one college morning. Just a quarter past nine she shocked herself awake. There was a tingling sensation in her skin, and a presence that shadowed over her eyes. She leapt towards her bathroom mirror, seeing her irises already midway changed. There was a drop of wispy liquid like food coloring dispersing in water, but rather than clear, it was her brown that was fading away. Replacing it was a shock of electric blue, closer to neon and brighter than the morning sun trying to flood her bathroom.

Maka couldn't look away for a long time, until the transformation was completed and not an ounce of chocolate brown was left in the mirror. Then she screamed loudly in her dorm, waking her roommate and adjourning neighbors. "Are you fucking kidding me? I have team portraits at one!"

Her friends all cooed at the change, calling the color beautiful, but only after they were done scolding her noisiness. It was unlike anything that any of them had ever naturally seen- hard to miss.

"Well, it will be easier to find them now right? Your soulmate."

She groaned, "A soulmate is troublesome. They could be halfway around the world and I may never find them. What if I don't even like them once I do. Why wait?"

"Or maybe they're close, you know?"

"I guess that's just the problem. I really _don't_ know."

She pettily wore her sunglasses for the rest of the day, even indoors, refusing to acknowledge the bright blue.

A few weeks later, her volleyball coach announced a joint practice session with a school close by. They would be coming here for the next few months as their school's facilities were in construction, so tomorrow would be a test run.

"I expect you all to be on your best behavior," the coach glared at Maka's group, playfully. "That includes you girls."

A cascade of giggles followed.

She came to practice the next day armed with extra tape and water, for courtesy. But before she could step into the room, her friends swept her away in hushed tones.

"Everyone's talking about it, Maka. You won't believe it."

She rolled her eyes. "Are all the boys hot or something?"

Tsubaki and Liz met eyes, but Patty was the one who answered her. "Not that, my dude." She reached over to gently lift Maka's sunglasses off of her nose. "One of them... their hair is blue."

As Maka ran off, she heard behind her, "None of us can catch his eyes though! It might not be him!"

Her heart raced and her hands were shaking. The group of girls crowding at the door saw Maka and parted like a curtain. Such a motion attracted the eyes of the newcomers, but the one person that she wanted to see was already staring back at her. Blue hair, and liquid gold eyes.

She couldn't hold back her first thoughts, letting them slip out and into the silent gym.

"Ew."

* * *

"Ew."

Those were the first words that he heard from his soulmate's mouth.

She was out of breath as if she'd just sprinted a marathon, hair tossed and her clothes askew. And her eyes, her wild and bright blue eyes, were wide.

As if she was slapped, she winced, realizing what she'd just said to a stranger. The girl doubled back and started stammering, bumbling over her words and looking down to her feet instead of at him. The silence that had formed in the gym caused her words to bounce back loudly, echoing. In the meantime, Black Star's eyes darted from her face to her hair, and from her hair to her to her ears, and from her ears to her nose, and from her nose to her still rambling mouth.

She was an adorable specimen. While small, her build was noticeably lithe, yet athletic. She stood with her feet apart, hands unable to keep still, and shoulders confidently squared even as she was doubting herself. The other teammates around them watched her, entertained- lovely so.

Black Star, after taking her in, slowly revealed a big, shit-eating-grin. He also couldn't hold back his thoughts, showing them in the form of a drawled, "Awwww shi-et."

His cackling stopped the girl in her tracks.

So maybe in hindsight, it wasn't the correct reaction to the situation, but Star had been waiting for her- his soulmate- for so long. He dyed his hair weeks ago because he was tired of the people who pretended they were his match, revealed otherwise in more ways than one. A life partner should not try to fit themselves into a mold, and on that note, they shouldn't not force him to either.

Still, he was impatient to find the person destined to be his. The blue that he chose was a desperate move, not as desperate as what he's seen on the internet. There were people who dyed their hair to show numbers and addresses, even going as far as to print obscene words or icons out of spite. He decided that the color was harmless enough, but wild and unignorable, unique and matched the blond that his soulmate had. If anything, Black Star was the one who was taking the brunt of his decision. He wanted to find them though, at least meet them once in their lifetime.

Luckily, the host school's coach stumbled onto the scene then.

She took one glance at Star's hair, and in an act of mercy, she called out, "Albarn and, uh."

"Braxton," he supplied.

The coach nodded. "You two, out of my gym. Don't come back until you've had a proper chat." With that, she met eyes with the girl, Albarn, and tilted her chin towards the door. "Out."

Reluctantly, Albarn followed Star out where they settled beside the wall. He didn't plan what to say next after they'd left, much less expect to have a chance alone so suddenly, but he couldn't erase the smile off of his face for the life of him. She sat an arm's length from him, and he scooched closer to make up the difference.

"So," he offered. "You're a volleyball player, too, huh, Albarn?"

"Maka," she said quickly.

"Huh?"

"My name. It's Maka. Albarn is my last name."

"Oh," he replied, but undeterred. "That's a nice name, too!"

She thanked him, uncertainty laced in her tone. The feeling that she was being too guarded weighed on Black Star. He wondered why it was so, or why it bothered him so much. Maka showed she was impatient in the form of her body language, but not in the way that he was to get to know her. She continued to glance into the gym where their friends and team were warming up, stretching and slapping on their gear. Did he really spark that little interest?

"So, you got a partner?"

Maka sighed, finally looking at him since they'd left the building. He could tell that she was finally studying him. "Not right now, no."

"Great! Let's—"

She cut him off, voice already tired. "Come on, Braxton. Are you serious? We've only just met."

"I know," he tried. "My friends call me Black Star, not Brax. And why wait? I already know that I'm into you." He saw her withdraw. "I'm serious, I am."

Was he earnest enough? Did he sound firm?

She hesitated for too long for him to be certain.

"I've been waiting for you my whole life," he said softly. "We don't have to jump into it. Just be my friend. Just try for a little."

Maka uncrossed her arms, letting out a breath that she was holding for too long.

"Alright. I- I'm sorry. I'm not usually this… wound up."

He wanted to touch her hand, badly.

She continued, "This is just a really big surprise. And uh, your hair. No offense, but what is that _color_?"

Black Star ran a hand through the top, chuckling. "You noticed it though, right? Was that why you said what you did?" Her nod confirmed it. "It worked the way it was supposed to, then! Well, it definitely looks better as your eye color, doesn't it? I dunno. Fuck it, man, I was desperate. I wanted to find you that bad."

A faint blush splashed her cheeks. "But, why?"

"I don't know," he said. "Find out with me."

Maka mused it in her head. "Alright, fine. But just to make sure, on three, we say the date that the blue appeared. You remember it, right?"

He nodded.

"Ok good. Ready? On three. One, two—"

"Wait, like on three or on go?"

Maka squinted while Star gave a sheepish grin.

"Three. One, two, three."

"February seventh," they said simultaneously, unsurprised.

"I don't know why I even bothered," Maka sighed. "It was pretty obvious what this is."

"So, we can keep seeing each other?"

Smiling, she answered, "Why not. You're not terrible."

"And we're soooulmaaates?"

"Don't push it."

"Come on, say it."

"Fine, we're soulmates."

"Awwww shi-et," Black Star said, breaking into another wide grin.

* * *

Written for MaStar Week 2018  
Day 2: Training

Prompt:  
-your soulmate's hair color is the color of your eyes. the color of your eyes also changes to match the color of their hair if they dye it

Thx Rush 4 beta stuff i GUESS


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